The invention relates to a magnetic-tape cassette comprising a housing having first and second substantially parallel flat major walls, first and second substantially parallel side walls, a rear wall and a front with a front aperture or recess between the major walls; two rotatable reel hubs arranged between the major walls; a magnetic tape which is connected at its ends to the reel hubs and which has a portion which extends across said front aperture or recess in the housing to co-operate with parts of a magnetic-tape cassette apparatus; at least one front cover which is pivotable from an open position to a closed position under spring force about a pivot which is perpendicular to the side walls of the housing, which front cover at least partly covers the front aperture or recess in the housing in the closed position; and at least one latching lever which is pivotable about a pivot which is connected to the housing, which lever is situated near one of the side walls and pivots under spring force from an inoperative position to a latching position in which the latching lever latches the front cover in the closed position.
A magnetic-tape cassette of this type is known and, in particular, is used very extensively for recording and reproducing video signals by means of a magnetic video-tape apparatus. This known magnetic-tape cassette comprises a front cover which ensures that the portion of magnetic tape which extends across the front aperture or recess cannot be damaged. The front cover also seals the cassette so as to inhibit the penetration of contaminants and dust. In order to ensure that the front cover remains in the closed position after the magnetic-tape cassette has been removed from the magnetic-tape apparatus, the cover in the known cassette is latched in the closed position by means of the latching lever. The housing of this known magnetic-tape cassette is comparatively large, so that this cassette is less suitable for use in equipment in which only a limited space is available for the cassette. In particular for use in video cameras with built-in magnetic-tape apparatus it is desirable to have a magnetic-tape cassette of small dimensions. Such a cassette of smaller dimensions should comprise component parts, which despite frequent use will still perform reliably after a long period of time. A vulnerable part is the front cover of the magnetic-tape cassette with the associated latching lever. In the known cassette the active latching portion of the latching lever is disposed at a comparatively short distance from the pivot of the front cover. If the front-cover/latch construction in the known cassette is simply made smaller in order to obtain a cassette of smaller dimensions, only a small force on the front cover would suffice to swing the front cover open, without the latch being set to the inoperative position. Furthermore, this known cassette comprises a latch which occupies much space, which is not available in a cassette of smaller dimenions.